Honeycomb
by articmadador
Summary: The Autobots notice that there is a feral human living in the woods behind their new base. Who is this human, and how long has she been there? Should they alert the other humans at base of her presence? Perhaps it would be best to figure out who she is and how she got there before removing her. Besides, not many humans can brave wild bees and lead around wild goats.
1. Honeycomb

**Yo! articmadador here with my first one-shot. Honestly I got bored, so I decided to type up an idea that had been stuck in my head since the beginning of June. I wasn't going to put it into writing because I really didn't think much of it, but lately I had a dream about it, and decided I would type it up. After typing it, I decided I might as well post it. It's not really meant to be taken seriously, but if y'all like it, I would like to know. I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS! Hasbro does. I only own whatever plot material and characters you don'the recognize. Please review and enjoy!**

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It was the Autobots who had discovered the human girl living in the forest behind the base. More specifically, it was the Twins and Bumblebee who had spotted her while racing through the woods on the bumpy trails. They had left that afternoon, only to come back telling a story of how they saw a cave girl stealing honey from a beehive. At first no one believed them, especially when none of them had proof of what they saw. However, as the days dragged on, what they had explained seemed the be more true than everyone had previously thought.

Everyone knew that Jazz enjoyed going the forest and relaxing by the creek. It was something he had done since his revival years ago. But when he came back one morning with a story to tell, it got everyone thinking. He had arrived at the creek early that morning, when it was still dark. As soon as he parked, he recalled hearing splashing, and he saw something run into the bushes, then peak out and look at him. He figured it was a wild dog, since a small number of domesticated dogs turned feral lived on the island. He had believed that until it slinked out of the bushes and walked on two legs through the trees. He quickly turned on his headlights to see what it was, and described what he saw as the creature tried to get away from the light. He saw that it was dressed in some sort of animal fur, and he saw a flash of brown skin before it disappeared. Needless to say Jazz tore up the forest floor trying to get back to base, though he claims it was because he was excited to tell them what happened, and not scared.

Everyone was already starting to wonder if the human was really there now. It turned out that a large population of goats lived on the island. They could be heard and spotted in the forest on occasion, and sometimes the Autobots enjoyed observing there behavior in their spare time. But never before had they all run into the forest after one odd call. The called varied from a howl, which everyone could tell came from a human, to what sounded like a human bleating like a sheep. As soon as the goats followed, the wild dogs would as well, only to run off with their tail between their legs, whining like they'd been shot at. Pretty soon the dogs seemed to avoid the goats, and began traveling back to base to try to get food from the humans.

Ratchet, who found all of this interesting, decided he would conduct an experiment, and Wheeljack volunteered to help. They never did get the chance to do that. The two mechs were standing out at the edge of the forest in a large field where a few goats grazed. Their attention was called to something, or rather someone, bleating just beyond the trees. The goats all turned and rushed into those trees toward the sound. It was then that both mechs watched as a wild looking human girl who must've been in her early teens or around that age range, came and stood on a tree branch not far from them. She was clothed in unrecognizable animal skin, and she had a certain wild look in her eyes. She stared at them until the last goat disappeared into the trees, then she slowly turned and disappeared herself.

Now everyone knew she was there, and there was a problem with that. Not only was she on private government property illegally, but she may have been in danger or in poor health. There was no telling how she got to the island, nor how she had managed to survive since then. She was able to hide so well that no human even knew she existed. Only the Autobots did, and not all of them had seen her yet. Each sighting was fairly far apart, sometimes weeks apart. Usually when they saw the human, she was either with the goats, or eating honey from a beehive. There were quite a few of them scattered around the island. After a long meeting, it was decided that an Autobot would wait at each of a selected number of beehives for the girl to come by, then try to talk to her. There were eight beehives in the area that they had all seen her in, so eight Autobots were chosen.

The first day, no one saw her. She did not show up the second day, and after the third day they wondered if she was still there. But on the fourth day, at a beehive by the creek, Optimus sat quietly in his alternate mode, all sensors pointed in the beehive. He was quite interested in the bees, since he had never had a chance to observe them until now. They were constantly moving in and around their hive. The hive itself was something to marvel at. He had never seen anything like it. While lost in his thoughts and observations, he hadn't noticed the girl in the tree above him. By the time he did, she had jumped down onto his hood and stared right inside the window to see if anyone was there. At first Optimus didn't speak, but when she knocked on the hood and sat down, he decided that she might very known more than he thought she did. He notified everyone that she was with him, then contemplated what to say.

"Do not be afraid. I will not harm you," he said slowly, not sure what else to say.

She smiled, but said nothing, so he continued. "I am Optimus Prime. What is your name little one?"

She held her head down and shook her head. Optimus could see by her body language that she was a little upset by the question. He decided to drop the question and move on.

"Where are you from?"

She did not answer, nor did she show any signs test she was going to answer. Optimus waited patiently, and his patience was rewarded. The girl answered his question in a low voice.

"Far away."

"How far?"

"Don't know. But it's far."

"How did you get here?"

"Plane crash."

"How long ago was that?"

She shrugged. "While ago. Can't remember."

Optimus thought for a moment. "Can you count by the seasons?" he inquired, not sure if there really were seasons here. They hadn't been here for a year yet.

The girl was quiet for a while. "Eight times the winter winds come."

She had been hers for eight years, far before they had even dreamed of coming. She had managed to survive that long with no human contact. She seemed to be in good health as well. She wasn't too thin, and though she wasn't terribly muscular, she did seem quite strong. Optimus could tell her hands and feet were hardened from being out here, and her hair, which was left to stand wild, was littered with twigs and leaves. She did look clean, and her hair was not matted or too unkempt. She was taking good care of herself.

"Are you afraid out here?"

"Used to be. Not now. Have the goats to keep me company."

"You speak well for one who hasn't been around humans for so long."

"Sing songs. Tell the goats stories."

"You live with them?"

"I protect them from wild dogs. Wild dogs are scared of man."

"Where do you sleep out here?"

"In the trees, near the goats."

"What do you eat?"

"Whatever I can. Love honey and fruit. There are nuts, and I eat plants goats eat. Eat crickets and birds, but have to make fire for that. Don't like doing that often. Drink creek water when it runs through rocks."

"Do you like it here?"

"This is home."

"Do you wish to stay here?"

"Yep. You won't take me from here, will you? Been here this long, might as well stay."

The girl was quiet, waiting for an answer. Optimus reflected on everything he had just heard. She had been here for eight years, survived, and wanted to stay.

"Don't you miss your family?"

"Lost them in plane crash."

Optimus fell silent watching her body language. She didn't seem affected by the question. It seemed that she had accepted what had happened to her family. He decided to continue after a minute of silence.

"Don't you miss your home?"

"No. Always wanted to be free. You won't take me from here, will you?"

That question again. Optimus wasn't so sure he wanted to leave her here in this forest. Sure she could survive, but this may not have been the best place for her to be. He didn't know too much about feral children, but he hadn't heard enough about them to know what to do. All he knew was what he felt in his spark. He assumed she was alright, considering her condition and the fact that she did not want to leave.

"Will you?" she asked.

"No, little one. If this is your home, and you do not want to leave, I will not force you to do so."

"Autobots are good. I like them. I like you. You won't tell the other humans about me?"

She was smart. She knew humans were there, and she knew there was a chance that Optimus or the other Autobots could alert then to her presence. She was able to hide from them, but if the Autobots told the humans that she was there, then they would seek her out and remove her. Optimus had a feeling that not only would she not enjoy that at all, but once he and the other Autobots saw how the humans handled the situation, they may not be happy about it either. Humans could be careless and barbaric at times, and though they meant well, sometimes they did more harm to things than good.

"No, we will not tell. You must be sure to stay out of the humans sight."

"Will do. Not too hard."

By now Optimus was sure that everyone was close by. The human turned around, and she followed something with her gaze. Optimus picked up the spark signature of Jazz, and he figured the mech was getting a closer look. One by one he detected more of his Autobots, and it seemed that the human did to. She stretched, then stood up and jumped off his hood. She turned around and looked at the Autobot insignia on his grill.

"Autobots are good. Don't have to hide from them, right?"

"Of course not. We are your allies," the leader replied.

"Good. Have to hunt now. Goodbye."

Before she went two steps, Optimus called out to her. "What should we call you?"

She called back to him without turning around. "Honeycomb."

Then he watched as she climbed up in the tree, and after a few leaves and branches rustled, she was gone. Optimus backed up, finding that all of his Autobots had been waiting and watching in their alternate modes. They all began to follow him as he drove to a trail that led back to base.

::Optimus, are we gonna to tell tha humans 'bout her?:: It was Jazz who was asking.

::No. She has been here for a long time, and she wishes to stay.::

::How long she been here?::

::Eight years.::

::Eight years!?:: Multiple Autobots repeated in union.

::Yes, eight years. She survived a plane crash and has been here ever since. She lost her family in that crash.::

::Poor kid. And ya say she don't want ta go home?:: Jazz asked.

::She said this is her home.::

::Well, if she survived this long without humans, and she don't want ta go back, ah say she should stay.::

::I agree, Jazz. Sometimes the humans do more harm than good, and in trying to help her, they may make things worse for her.::

The other Autobots voiced their agreements as they turned on the trail to head back to the hangers. Behind them, a lone figure sat in a tree, watching them go as she slowly ate the honey from a small chunk of honeycomb she held in her hand.

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 **Well, there you go. Not the best story I ever thought of, but I think it came out okay. Hope you enjoyed! Have a good'n!**


	2. The Spill

**Yo! articmadador here saying here's another chapter, and more are to come! Sorry it took so long, but some family issues have come up, plus it's been hard for me to get a good night's rest with the family gift. It's a blessing and a curse, and it is driving me crazy. Slag always moving in the shadows whenever I close my eyes or turn my head! Anyways, like I said, more chapters are coming for this story. Sorry this chapter is kinda short and quick, but the next one will be better. I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS! Hasbro does. I only own whatever plot material and characters you don't recognize. Please review and enjoy!**

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It was a normal morning on the base, if there ever was one. A few soldiers had to get up earlier than normal for missions, bots were sent out as well, and a certain saboteur and sneaked off for his morning drive through the forest. It was going quite well for him, as it usually did. He stopped to listen to the birds, drove pass a few goats and what he presumed was Honeycomb asleep in a tree, then he frightened off a few wild dogs. Now came his favorite part of his morning drive. He stopped by the creek and would wait until the sun began to rise.

The creek was so beautiful to him. It was the purest water in the area. Ratchet deemed it clean enough to drink from. It almost made Jazz wish he was organic so he could drink from it. He loved everything about it. The sound of it gently running through and over the rocks. The way one could see the small fish and insects come to the surface. The way it glowed a bright blue like energon in the night. Oh wait…

In seconds Jazz was speeding back to base. He had not realized in his mad dash that he had startled the goats and awakened Honeycomb. As soon as he sped back to base, he transformed and ran to the medbay. Upon bursting in, he ducked instinctively, thinking for sure that something would go flying over his helm. When it didn't, he looked up to see Ratchet, Optimus, Ironhide, and Jolt standing in the medbay, all staring at him.

"Does anyone know why tha creek is glowing like energon?"

Optimus signed. "That is what we are talking about now. You know that there was a plane flying a new supply of energon here yesterday?"

"Yeah, it's late."

"Well, there was a technical malfunction on the plane, and they crashed on the island. The base was almost empty around the time of the crash since we were out on an important mission. It crashed somewhere up at a higher elevation, perhaps on one of the high peaks. The energon did not explode, but spilled and leaked into the streams in that area. It just so happened that it rained in that area last night, helping the carry the energon down here. That is the reason that the creek is glowing."

"Well, we gotta do somethin' before tha animals drink that water! Before…" Jazz fell silent, knowing better than to mention a certain someone aloud.

"Well don't know how energon will affect the local ecosystem and animal population, but we can only assume that the effects will be bad," Ratchet informed. "A cleanup effort is taking place in two hours."

"But it's already too late." Jazz murmured.

"That is where you come in. You and a few other bots will be in charge of gathering and monitoring data in this area. Lennox has stationed you all here, and due to a shortage of men, you will have no humans with you. Your job is record the water quality and to keep the animals in the area from drinking it. You will need to send me new readings every thirty minutes," Optimus said.

"What about—"

"Pay close attention to the goats, Jazz. The mechs going with you are Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Mirage, and Jolt."

Jazz nodded, knowing what Optimus meant by his first sentence. "When can we leave?"

"Considering how early the animals come for a drink, the sooner the better. If you are considering going now, then I encourage you to get moving."

In less than fifteen minutes, Jazz was leading his group of mechs out to the creek. This time he had thought about stopping to make sure the goats and Honeycomb were still asleep. The moment he pulled up to the area where they had been resting earlier and saw that there was no one there, he sped off to the creek. He was spitting out curses the entire time, and ignored the mechs' questions as he went. When they arrived at the creek, they were greeted by the sight of a glowing creek, and no wildlife in sight. After searching the area, tracks were found in the mud. There were goat tracks, the tracks of wild dogs, and after a little more searching, a human footprint was found as well.

"They were here, and they had to have drank the water." Jolt commented.

"They couldn't have. The animals probably sensed something was wrong, and Honeycomb most likely didn't take any chances," Sideswipe argued.

"We gotta find them. There is a chance that they did drink tha water." Jazz looked around and cursed in Cybertronian. "Jolt, you stay with me. The rest of you, go find Honeycomb."

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An hour after all this had went down, the Twins and Mirage were still searching for Honeycomb and the goats. They searched the beehives, then the trees, then by the fields. Mirage even tried playing goat calls on his radio, but it did not help. It wasn't until they had come to another area where the creek ran underground and was exposed to the sky through large rocks that they had any luck. There, they finally found the goats and Honeycomb. This was far from the creek where Jazz and Jolt were, and the fact that they had traveled this far so quickly was surprising.

As soon as they began to approach, Honeycomb, who was sitting on a boulder, looked up at them. A few goats did the same, causing the bots to freeze at what they saw. Honeycomb and the goats looking at them had glowing eyes. They glowed like a Cybertronian's optics would. Looking closer, they could see that all the goats had glowing eyes. After looking dumbfounded at each other, Mirage contacted Jazz.

::Jazz—::

::Are they livin'? Is Honeycomb alright? Did ya even find 'em!?::

::Yes, but—::

::But what!?::

::They appear to be alright, but their eyes are glowing much like our optics.::

::What!?::

::I said—::

::Ah know what ya said, but it doesn't make sense!::

::No, it does not. Should we contact Ratchet?::

::Ah will. Just talk ta Honeycomb 'n make sure she's feelin' alright.::

It was Sideswipe who approached her, since he seemed to be the most friendliest and outgoing of the group. He moved slowly towards her, but finding that she became alarmed, transformed and slowly approached in his alternate mode. She seemed to calm down, and did not move as he came closer. The goats didn't either, so he had to find a way through the herd to get to her. He eventually parked next to the boulder, then gathered his thoughts and figured out what to say.

"Hey, Honeycomb. I know you don't know me. My name is Sideswipe. I'm a friend of Jazz's. He sent me, my brother Sunstreaker, and our friend Mirage over there to check on you. Are you feeling alright?"

"Little tingly. Not too hungry. Blue glowing water do that," Honeycomb replied, watching a baby goat next to her.

"You drank the water?"

"All did. Wild dogs. Goats. Other animals and me. Weren't scared. Didn't see nothing too wrong."

"So, it didn't make you sick?"

"Make us feel good. Run all the way out here. Really energized."

"You know your eyes are glowing, right?"

"Yah. Pretty. Can see really good."

"Are you sure you don't feel sick? None of your…friends…feel sick either?"

"Nope. We good. Feel tingly, but good."

As soon as Honeycomb finished talking, one of the goats jumped on Sideswipe's hood. He shuddered, and Honeycomb laughed.

"She likes you. They all like you. I like you. You'd be good goat."

::Jazz, she's alright. She says she feels a little tingly and not very hungry. Other than that, she's fine,:: Sideswipe reported.

::Thank Primus,:: Jazz said, and it seemed that he could be heard venting through the comm. ::Ratchet says he's gonna examine 'er later on. So, she's okay?::

::Yeah. These goats really like me! They're kind cool if you can get pass the smell.::

::Sideswipe, what are ya doing?::

::Hanging out with Honeycomb and the goats.::

::You guys better get back. Optimus says a group of humans are coming to us. We don't want 'em askin' questions.::

::Frag, I was having fun! Alright, we're coming.::

Sideswipe shook in an effort to get the goat on his hood off. It didn't even flinch. Honeycomb stood up and picked it up off of his hood, surprising Sideswipe. That goat was kind of big, and she had picked it up like it was nothing. The kid was strong.

"Well gotta go now, Honeycomb. Take care of yourself. See you around."

"Come back sometime. Bring Jazz and friends too."

"Sure thing."

Sideswipe returned to the group, then they headed back to Jazz and Jolt. The rest of the day was very uneventful. The bots could only scan the water and send results back, and the humans who had joined them were of no help. They stood around talking amongst themselves. Finally the cleanup for the day ended, and the bots all headed back towards base with their human comrades. They decided the keep quiet about energon and the animals, and reported that the animals didn't drink the water because they had sensed something was wrong.

There was one thing that they really should have reported. Energon is flammable, and though it was altered once it mixed with water and lost this quality, the energon on the mountain was no exception. A few human soldiers had taken a smoke break up there, a little too close to the energon. The final smoke break of the day left multiple half lid cigarette buds near the spill, but it was one that was blown by the wind that caused all the trouble. Before anyone had reached the base, a horrible explosion seemed to shake the Earth, and humans and Autobots all turned to see a line of explosions as the energon that they were not able to cleanup during the day exploded and lid the forest on fire.

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 **Oooh...suspense. I'll try to get the next chapter in sooner. Hope y'all enjoyed! Have a good'n!**


	3. Fire and Finding Honeycomb

**Yo! articmadador pulling in this chapter! I'm surprised y'all like this story so much. Anyways, I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS! Hasbro does. I only own the plot materials and characters you don't recognize. Please review and enjoy!**

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Honeycomb was quite relieved when the men left. She had been waiting in the bushes for a long time, and when they had left, she led the goats back to the creek for a much needed drink. As soon as they had all arrived, they rushed to the water and began drinking the still glowing liquid. Honeycomb, as thirsty as she was, had to take frequent breaks from drinking, and take care not to drink too much. The wild dogs could be nearby, and it was not a good idea to be full of water should they attack.

As soon as she put her head down for another few gulps (she didn't use her hands to drink because they were dirty), a horrible explosion racked the forest. Then multiple explosions followed, sending the entire forest into a panicked frenzy. The goats and Honeycomb scattered and ran from the noise, followed by the wild dogs who had indeed been sneaking up for an attack. Birds and squirrels and other animals jolted awake, and all of them began to run for their lives. Amidst the chaos, Honeycomb scrambled up a tree and turned to see what had happened.

She saw a large cloud of smoke rising up from the high peaks, and black smoke rising in the forest near it. She already knew that the forest was on fire, and though the peaks were a fair distance away, the fire would soon reach this area. It was safer to flee than to stay and hope the fire didn't reach them. The forest was dry since it had not rained in a while, and there were no clouds in the sky tonight. Without wasting another minute, Honeycomb climbed down and raced after the animals. Their only hope was the rock field out in the long plains that were far from the forest. That was a fair distance away, and many obstacles like an area where poachers place their traps when they visited the island, the river that ran through the heart of the island, and the rock wall that had to be climbed over to reach the fields. It would be a difficult night, but hopefully they would make it.

In the time it took for the Autobots and men to actually spot the fire, it had spread, and that had been disastrous. The wind had caused it to spread quite a distance, and to make matters worse, one of the smaller streams with a high concentration of energon had caught on fire. It had spread across the surface like it was a stream of gasoline, lighting the bushes and trees nearby. This stream went on from near the peaks to near where the creek ran through the rocks. By then, new fires had started, causing the fire to spread out across the forest. It was even worse than before. Had that stream not lighted on fire, then the animals would have had a chance, but now that it was in the place that they had been just minutes before, they were running out for luck.

The Autobots had been ahead of the humans in the mad dash to get back to base for emergency fire supplies. Four helicopters were sent out, and men who had been trained for this type of emergency rolled out in modified vehicles. The fire was deemed too dangerous for untrained personnel to approach, so the soldiers and Autobots had to stay behind. Of course, one just couldn't listen. Jazz had not argued with anyone. He had not tried to convince anyone that he, or the Autobots need to go to the fire. No, he had slipped pass all of the Autobots, and currently sat in his alternate mode plotting out the best way the escape. He just had to find Honeycomb, and it would be best to do that alone.

Ever since the Autobots had first met Honeycomb, they had become good friends. Jazz spent the most time in the forest, and he was a good friend to both the girl and the goats. She had made friends with some of the other Autobots, too. She and Optimus were good friends, and they cared a lot for each other. She, Ratchet, and Wheeljack were good friends as well. However, none of them knew her like Jazz did, and none of them were close to her like he was. He just had to find her and make sure she was okay. As soon as he saw his chance to slip away silently, he did so, making his way pass the humans and speeding off into the night.

Honeycomb had told him countless times about the rock field that the animals all went to during a forest fire. They could go there and be safe from fires since it never burned across the stones. He knew where they were, and he was positive that Honeycomb and the goats were there, but as he sped off, he immediately realized that something was wrong. The fire had spread down to where the creek was, and well pass that. The whole forest seemed to be on fire. He could not enter it with it ablaze like that, so he preceded to the rocks by traveling on the trails outside of the forest.

As he drove, he could hear and see animals screeching, screaming, and running. He had never heard this before, and it was very upsetting. He knew that Honeycomb was somewhere in there, but what he didn't know was if she was running with these animals, or if she had fallen behind. He wasn't going to think that way, and decided he wasn't going to call out for her just yet. She would not hear over the ruckus, and he did not want to terrify the animals further by blaring his horn. He just drove as quickly as he could to the rock field.

Imagine his shock when he arrived to find no one but birds and a few small animals! The bigger animals were no where in sight! He waited for thirty minutes, using a map of the island to figure out where Honeycomb and the goats could possibly be. He could not figure it out, since he did not know where they were when the fire started. He could only wait an see if they would come crawling out of the trees and across the plains to the rock field.

It had already been a rough and terrible night. The fire had spread so quickly, and now it was moving unbelievably fast. It was like a wall moving behind the animals. If the animals did not move fast enough, that wall would catch them, and they would be either badly burned as they escaped, or they would burn to death. Honeycomb had lost sight of the goats long ago, and she knew that there would be losses amongst them. However, she could not wait for them, nor try to find any of them. She could die doing that, and she certainly didn't want to do that.

It was near morning now, and she was scrambling up the rock wall with animals scrambling around her. The rock wall was not perfectly vertical, but it was still hard to climb. She had the least trouble, and the goats wouldn't have much trouble, but the wild dogs did. Those lucky ones that made it up wasted no time fleeing the area, and she did not stick around to learn the fate of the wild dogs that had not made it.

She was so tired and soaked with river water and she had enough cuts and bruises on her that it seemed like she hurt all over. The river had been an easier obstacle since it was generally calm. With it not raining for a while, then the water level was a little lower. It may have been easier to cross had there not been so many terrified animals splashing around and slamming into each other. She had seen a few drownings in her peripheral, but she knew better than to look. She would drown also if she had not steered clear of the panicking animals and kept swimming.

The burning forest was now far behind, and there were no animals there. If there were, they were not alive. The attempt to stop the fire had been given up when the forest was seen in its current state. There was no way that fire could be put out, and they could not waste their supplies trying. The men had come back, all distraught and some angry. They could do nothing but stand by and watch as the fire destroyed the entire forest.

The men were angry, but the Autobots had so many mixed emotions that they could hardly focus on one thing. As a result, no one had noticed Jazz's absence. Well, they hadn't for a while. It was near morning when Prowl had discovered a certain saboteur missing and comm. linked him right away. Everyone gathered in the med bay, away from the curious humans, when he contacted Jazz.

::Jazz, where are you?::

::Don't worry 'bout it!::

::Are you looking for Honeycomb?::

::Ah said don't worry 'bout it!::

::Don't snap at me, Jazz. Everyone is worried about you. What is your location?::

:: Prowl, leave meh be! Ah gotta focus so ah can see Honeycomb 'n the goats arrive.::

::Jazz, it's too dangerous for you to be out there! You need to either come back or tell us where you are!::

::Leave meh be! Don't come lookin' fer meh!::

Now Jazz shut off the comm. link, leaving everyone in the dark to where he was and what he was doing. Of course, they did not need to worry. A few minutes later, Jazz saw an exhausted Honeycomb drag herself through the field and onto the rocks. Upon spotting him, she slowly made her way to him and plopped down. She was wet with perspiration, as well as river water, and she was covered in shapes and bruises. He hair was wet, and leaves and dirt that had mixed in from the river. She looked miserable, and Jazz could tell that she must have felt miserable.

::Y'all can chill, now. Ah found 'er:: Jazz said suddenly over the comm., and he cut it off before he was bombarded with questions.

"Honeycomb, are ya alright?"

"So sad and tired. Lost herd. Now no food. No water. No home. Why burn down? Not time yet. No lightning storm."

"We don't know, Honeycomb. I'm very sorry. All of us Autobots are."

"Man in the forest?"

"Earlier, yeah."

"Then man bring fire. Not like fire. Man never use right. Now home gone!"

"Honeycomb, I think ya better come back ta base with me."

"Not go back to man!"

"Ya don't have to! Just hear meh out. We Autobots can take care of ya 'til things get better in the forest."

"Take long time to grow. Just shift grounds. Forest grow back years from now. Left other side of forest when it burn down years ago. May be food now."

"Kiddo, you're in rough shape. You need some food 'n water 'n a good place ta sleep."

"Not leave home!"

"Ya ain't got to! The forest will be right outside. You can stay wit us, and we'll keep you safe. You ain't gotta worry 'bout tha humans. You can sleep in tha med bay since Ratchet 'n Jolt is always there, and you can hang out wit us all day. We'll get ya food 'n water."

"Not go indoors! Not be trapped!"

"You won't be! You can come out all that time!"

"Not live like humans! Already did and don't like!"

"Ya ain't gotta. Think of it like this. You need medical attention to make sure you didn't get any infections in your cuts and such, and to make sure you ain't malnourished. I'm sure some of tha other animals will receive tha same treatment. When they back healthy, they'll be released back into tha forest. So, when you healthy 'n well enough, we'll release ya back into ya home."

"So…get same treatment as animals. Not have to be like humans? Can come back?"

"No, you don't have to act like humans, and yes you can come back."

"Promise?"

"Ah promise on muh spark."

"Mmmm." Honeycomb looked across the plains, then looked at the sky to see that morning wasn't too far off. She continued to hum to herself in deep thought.

It was sunrise when Jazz slowly rolled into the med bay and transformed. He walked up to Ratchet, whom was recharging in a sitting up position. The medic must've been up late as usual. It wasn't hard to wake Ratchet, and from a short whistle, the medic woke with a start and glared at Jazz. He then stared at his clawed servos, or rather, something that sat in between them.

"Hey Ratchet. Ah was wonderin' how ya would feel 'bout havin' some company."

Ratchet looked down at Honeycomb, who was holding on to Jazz's clawed servos. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. Without uttering a word, and reached over and gently removed Honeycomb from Jazz's servos. He held her against his chassis and looked up at Jazz, who smiled back.

"She has two conditions. She don't want to be anywhere 'round humans, and she don't want for have to act like a human."

Ratchet nodded. "She doesn't have to. Not here with us."

"She's gonna want ta go back as soon as we find tha goats."

"She can. She's also skin and bones. Would you like something to eat?"

Honeycomb nodded quite enthusiastically, and Ratchet sat her down on the berth he had been sitting on.

"We'll get you fed, then settled in, alright?" Ratchet asked.

She nodded, then asked her own question. "Meet rest of Autobots now?"

Jazz laughed. "Of course! Ah'll go get 'em. Ya just be good fer Ratchet."

Then Jazz left her in the med bay to talk to Ratchet, whom she bombarded with questions, and made his way to the rec room, a smile glued to his faceplates.

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 **Hope ya liked. New chapter coming soon, and after that chapter is posted, you can expect me to start the sequel for Metal Angels and Metal Demons. Chapter one will go up on July 20, so be ready ta start a new adventure with Claire and the squad. Hope you enjoyed! Have a good'n!**


	4. Going Home

**Yo! articmadador here bringing in what may or may not be the last chapter. I might add some more later, but I'm not sure. Anyways, I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS! Hasbro does. I only own whatever plot material and characters you don't recognize. Please review and enjoy!**

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Honeycomb stayed with the Autobots for three months. In that time, she had received medical treatment from Ratchet, and he took care of any infections and other health problems she may have had. He did very well for a medic who knew little about human biology, and after three months, he had a fair understanding of how a human's body functioned. Thanks to him, Honeycomb was healthy, and she was ready to return home.

Honeycomb was indeed healthy enough to leave base, and had been for a month. However, the bots could not locate the goats, and she stuck to her word. She wasn't going to leave until knew for a fact that the goats were in the forest. For three months, whenever they had the chance, the Autobots would go out and look for them. They would search different parts of the forest in groups, sometimes double to be certain they weren't missing the herd.

When the Autobots couldn't search, Honeycomb would, and sometimes Jazz would accompany her. They had to go to the other side of the island, where the forest was new and fresh, but also very young. There were few trees strong enough for Honeycomb to climb, much less swing in. They had found two beehives in the pass few weeks, though the bees were only just beginning to swarm and form the hive. They found animals like wild dogs, squirrels, and birds. Many of the animals had moved their location, and Honeycomb could recognize some of them. Still, for a long time, they could not find the goats.

Sometimes Jazz would take Honeycomb to the burned forest. The creek had burned up, but everyone was certain it would run again soon, which it did, but it was not as much water, so Honeycomb took care in drinking from it. The burned forest was like a field of burned foliage and ash with some trees still standing, and others were nothing but burnt stumps sticking out of the ground. Honeycomb had learned the hard way that it was better not to go digging around in the area too much. She had found a few friends she hadn't wanted to let go of. But, it wasn't good to stay in distress long, and if you were depressed in the forest, it was at great risk to yourself. She mourned her fallen friends, then moved on. The Autobots were worried about her, especially since it seemed that all of the goats might be gone. Things did not look well for her, and they could only keep her hidden at base for so long.

Perhaps one of the things that helped her during these rough times was her friendships with the Autobots. She had become close friends with Sideswipe, and eventually Sunstreaker. She was friends with Mirage, which surprised many, but it turned out that she respected his space, and he respected hers. Though few words were ever uttered between them, they were closer than everyone knew. She was also friends with Jolt in the same way, and sometimes she could be seen with either him or Mirage, silently enjoying their presence, respecting their space and resting at a respectful distance. She and the Tiny Twins could cause violent trouble. She seemed to be teaching them how to be like wild animals, and it usually took a wrench from Ratchet and a reprimand from Optimus to defuse the situation before it got out of hand. Honeycomb had her ties with the other bots as well. It was obvious ahead had respect for Optimus, not only because he was the leader, or alpha as she put it, but he was a damn good one and a good friend. Of course, everyone already knew that she loved Jazz as much as a human could love something, and the silver mech loved her enough to hurt their own sparks. She had a respect and love for Ratchet and Wheeljack, and thanks to her presence, Ratchet finally started drinking his energon rations when he should and recharging more. As for Wheeljack, well, there weren't as many explosions. Prowl, as serious and stoic as he could be at times, could be quite kind to her, and sometimes it seemed that she could melt his spark. As for the femmes, they though she was adorable, and she enjoyed having female company for once.

It was the end of the third month, and Mirage and Bumblebee head left to scout for goats in the morning, though it was expected that they would return without spotting at thing. So, when they came rushing back talking about a large herd of goats, everyone thought they had glitched. As soon as Honeycomb heard the word, she was gone. The Autobots all managed to get away, and all sped off to wherever Mirage and Bumblebee were leading them.

It was not easy driving through the forest, especially where the trees had grown close together. However, it was like second nature to the Autobots now, so they had less trouble getting though than they once had. After almost thirty minutes of cautious off-road driving, then five minutes for convincing Honeycomb to get off of Optimus' hood because he could not fit through a group of trees and needed to transform, then five more minutes to get her back on, then fifteen more as they continued forward, they finally found the goats.

It was a larger herd than Honeycomb had been with, but by the way she jumped around and greeted some of the goats, it was obvious that she knew some of them. She slowly approached the few rams in the group, but finding that she knew one of them already, and the others were calm and collected, she was soon able to sit with the herd and play with them. Then came the saddest part of the reunion. Honeycomb looked up at the Autobots, and the look in her eyes told them that she wanted to stay. They all knew it would come to this, but even then it was hard to let go.

::We're not leaving her out here, are we?:: Bumblebee inquired.

::This is her home, Bumblebee. She only agreed to stay with us if she would be allowed to leave when we found the goats,:: Ratchet answered.

::But there's no creek here! There's no honey, and-::

::It pains us all to leave her behind, but we cannot take her back.:: All optics turned to Mirage, who was standing a short distance off, watching Honeycomb and the goats.

::She does not want to go back. Even if she did, we can only hide her for so long, so it will be too dangerous for her to stay at base. She is happy here. Isn't that what we all want? We what her to be happy, don't we?::

Everyone voiced their agreements through the comm. and some of them visibly nodded.

::We all know where she is, and I'm sure she will want us to visit quite often.::

Everyone looked down when Honeycomb walked up to them, a sad but accepting look in her glowing eyes. Everyone instinctively kneeled down, and Mirage came over to join them. Honeycomb looked back at the herd, then looked at them.

"Goats here. I can stay, right?"

Jazz, who was closest to her at the moment, nodded. "That's what we promised."

"Miss you all, though. Know not all of you like woods, but come visit. All make good goats. Honeycomb like company. You all like a herd of your own. Autobot herd. Better come visit Honeycomb herd."

"We'll come visit, Honeycomb," Sideswipe said solemnly.

"Not be sad. Maybe some nights, come stand on the edge of forest. Might see our bright eyes in the dark. Herd never sleeps all night, and like travel."

"Hey, will ya ever come back to base?" Skids asked.

"Maybe. Can never know. Just hope it's under better circumstances."

The herd started moving, and Honeycomb turned to watch them as they began moving through the forest. She turned back to the Autobots. "Have to go. Not wanna get left behind."

"Be careful, Honeycomb. Take good care of yourself," Optimus said. Honeycomb nodded, or more like dipped her head in respect.

"Remember to try and balance out your diet, Honeycomb," Ratchet reminded.

"Don't drink dirty water!" Sideswipe added.

"Watch out for the spiders," Sunstreaker mumbled.

"Don't let the rams get to ya," Jazz warned.

Honeycomb laughed. "Survived for eight years alone. Can do again, though better with friends. Good hunting!" she called, then she turned around and bounced happily on her way into the forest. Everyone said goodbye to her as she turned around and smiled. "Goodbye…" she said, almost solemnly, then she disappeared into the forest with the goats.

The bots all stood up, and after waiting a few minutes, transformed and began to leave. It was quiet for a while, and no one uttered a word until they were clear of the forest and heading to the base.

::Things ain't gonna be that same wit out her here,:: Jazz murmured.

::No, they won't.:: Optimus replied.

::She'll be alight, tho. Just hope she ain't gonna be hungry. Ain't no honey 'round there.::

::It will be soon.::

::'Ey Prime, you gonna visit 'er?::

::Of course. I'm sure everyone will.::

::Ya know. Maybe we can order some honey from overseas. Honeycomb says that stuff lasts forever. We could say it's fer research or somethin'. What do ya think?::

::Maybe, Jazz. Maybe.::

That night, a group of Autobots did stand on the edge of the woods, and around midnight, they could see pairs of blue eyes moving through the trees, one pair in particular stopped and gazed at them, before silently disappearing along with the others into the forest. Then, as they headed back to base, they could hear the familiar bleating of the goats, and their favorite little human behind them.

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 **Hope y'all enjoyed. Gotta go now and start gettin' my story chapter started. Have a good'n!**


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